A Chicago police sergeant who shot and wounded a 16-year-old during a 2017 foot chase has kept his job and even climbed the ranks, despite a city watchdog’s finding that the shooting was unjustified and deserving of termination. City attorneys quietly pulled the plug on the disciplinary case before it could reach the Chicago Police Board, while taxpayers shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle lawsuits tied to his conduct. The move is once again raising doubts about whether Chicago’s much‑touted reform efforts are reaching the officers who draw the most serious complaints.
COPA found the shooting unjustified
Investigators with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability concluded Officer Brian Collins’ decision to open fire was not "objectively reasonable" and formally sustained the allegation against him, recommending that he be separated from the department. "The improper use of deadly force against a citizen is an egregious act requiring severe consequences," COPA wrote in its final summary report.
According to COPA’s final summary report, Collins shot the teen in the back of the left upper arm after a brief foot pursuit on Sept. 7, 2017.
Law Department halted the Police Board process
Despite COPA’s call for the harshest discipline, the case never made it to the Chicago Police Board, the public body that hears the most serious misconduct cases. As COPA’s online case portal notes, "The Department of Law dismissed the case against PO Collins prior to filing charges with the Police Board."
COPA posted the Final Summary Report and related records on Nov. 20, 2025, showing that the agency had completed its review and formally recommended termination. Those documents remain available on COPA’s public case portal for Log# 2017‑1086664.
Federal probe and consent decree backdrop
The Collins case plays out against the backdrop of a broader federal reckoning with the Chicago Police Department. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that CPD had engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional use of force, a finding that helped trigger a sweeping consent decree and court‑appointed monitoring of the city.
The DOJ report criticized CPD’s training, supervision and investigative practices and pressed for new rules on pursuits and use of force. Those findings became part of the official record that produced the consent decree, which is supposed to reshape how cases like Collins’ are handled and reviewed.
Payouts, promotion and stalled reforms
City records show that Chicago taxpayers have paid $591,500 to resolve four lawsuits tied to Collins’ conduct. At the same time, the department confirms Collins was promoted to sergeant in June 2025 and now earns about $134,292 a year.
On the reform side, progress has been halting. The University of Chicago Crime Lab’s Officer Support System, an early‑warning tool required under the consent decree, is operating in only two of CPD’s 22 districts. The court‑appointed monitor has reported limited overall compliance with many of the decree’s mandates.
These details were compiled and reported by WTTW News.
Legal stakes and a bigger fight over transparency
The Collins saga is unfolding alongside a much larger legal battle over how, and where, discipline for serious misconduct gets decided. A recent appellate court ruling held that arbitration in the most serious police discipline cases must be open to the public. That decision has been appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, setting up a high‑stakes test of whether Chicago officers facing termination or lengthy suspensions can steer their cases to private arbitrators instead of the public Police Board.
The Chicago Sun‑Times has detailed how that legal fight has stalled dozens of disciplinary cases and raised fresh doubts about transparency and accountability across the system.
What this means for Chicago
Accountability advocates argue that the combination of a watchdog’s firing recommendation, a Law Department dismissal and a subsequent promotion sends a demoralizing message about how discipline really works at CPD. City officials counter that legal and procedural rules sometimes limit how far they can push a case, regardless of how it looks from the outside.
Whichever side you believe, the Collins case has become a kind of stress test for Chicago’s reform promises, highlighting why consent‑decree monitoring, better data tools and clear, public disciplinary pathways are still seen as essential to rebuilding trust between the department and the communities it serves.
